• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, October 12, 2022

Microsoft brought attention to new graphic design apps on Wednesday. Designer, in Microsoft 365, features artificial intelligence (AI)-image generation powered by DALL-E 2, OpenAI’s AI-powered system that generates images from text by bringing it to first-party apps and services.

Content creation is not limited to an app, so the Microsoft Designer app and Image Creator tool is being integrated into Bing and Microsoft Edge.

The idea is to make the design and creation of social media posts, invitations, digital postcards, graphics and other content much faster and easier.

Brands such as Stitch Fix, Nestlé and Heinz are said to have piloted DALL-E 2 for ad campaigns and other commercial use, while certain architectural firms have used DALL-E 2 and tools to conceptualize new buildings.

As the user adds more content such as images or text, the “design ideas” feature integrates the content in the design with one click.

Designs can be shared with others including publishing directly to social media platforms or downloading them to use anywhere.

The Designer app originated from PowerPoint, where it uses AI to make template suggestions as the user builds out a presentation.

Depending on the type of content, Designer in PowerPoint offers several options from which to choose. More than eight billion slide designs, with more to come.

The launch may seem vaguely similar to Adobe’s offering, despite Microsoft being a close partner of the creative company. The two companies have more than 30 product integrations, according to CNBS “Adobe remains our key, at-scale strategic partner and this new consumer design application does not change our engagement with Adobe in any way,” a Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC in an email.

Despite the similarities between the two companies, the ways to create video content is also on the minds of Microsoft engineers.

Today, Microsoft also announced Chipchamp to Microsoft 365. For the first time, the Microsoft 365 suite of apps includes a free video editor. Whether it is a daily vlog, a viral dance video, a family video, or a highlight reel, Clipchamp helps you weave together video, sound, and effects quickly and easily.

Clipchamp enables any user to make professional-grade videos, without needing to be an editing expert.